Maples Directory
This is a general list of Maples we have been propagating in recent years.
Other maples may appear in  Current Availability before they are added to this directory.

buergerianum - Trident Maple Zones 5-8 Sun to part shade
Trident maple covers itself in shiny bright green leaves, with excellent fall colors ranging from yellow and orange to red.  On older trees the bark flakes off in patches, revealing new orange-brown bark.  An excellent street tree or patio tree.  Grows to 10’ in ten years, 15-25’ in time.  Recommended by: OPSC, USNA.  Awards: Gold Medal from PHS.  Check Availability

capillies - Snakebark Maple Zones 5-7 Sun to part shade
White stripes on the trunk and branches give this tree its common name.  New leaves emerge red in the spring.  This maple needs a cool shady spot in hot summer areas.  Grows to 10’ in ten years, 15-25’ in time.  Awards: Award of Merit and Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

griseum - Paperbark Maple Zones 4-8 Sun to partial shade
A garden gem.  One of the finest trees in cultivation.  Rare because it is difficult to propagate, and it is a slow growing juvenile.  Grows to 6-8’ in ten years 15-30’ or more over a long period time.  Trifoliate leaves emerge red briefly before turning to a good green.  Fall colors are predominately reds, with some orange-red and black-red colors.  The bark is a rich reddish-brown in color and exfoliates to reveal a cinnamon colored bark beneath.  This creates a superior effect, especially when trees are dormant.  Trees mature at 25 to 30 foot tall.  Recommended by OPSC, USNA.  Awards: Award of Merit & Award of Garden Merit from the RHS, Gold Medal from PHS.   -Bark  -Fall leaf color  Check Availability

Click here to learn  All About Japanese Maples

japonicum - Full Moon Maple Zones 5-9 Part shade but versatile
A separate species from Acer palmatum but always included with the ‘Japanese Maples’.

‘Aconitifolium’ - (syn.  'Maiku-jaku' meaning 'dancing peacock') -Fernleaf Maple -
A wonderful rare tree with very large, deeply dissected leaves.  Has particular value in tropical, Japanese, and exotic gardens; but stands on its own in any setting.   Known in Japan as " Reputedly more cold hardy than other Acer japonicum or Acer palmatum.  Grows 10’ in ten years.  Old well grown plants may reach 30-40’ or more.  Recommended by: OPSC.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

‘Vitifolium’ - Grapeleaf Maple -
As its name suggests the leaves on this maple are similar in size and shape to those of a grape leaf.  Leaves are green with good texture and then turn gold with some reds in the fall.  A large growing variety capable of reaching 20 to 30 feet tall.  Awards: First Class Certificate (for autumn foliage) & Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

palmatum - Palmatum Group -green –Zones 5-9 Part shade but versatile
The ‘parent’ of the Japanese maples, this tree deserves much wider use.  Strong grower, and versatile to cultural requirements.  Few trees in cultivation are as variable (witness the following cultivars).  Typically with green leaves turning primarily red with some yellow or orange during the fall.  The species is under used in favor of the cultivars, but is outstanding in its own right.  10-15’ in ten years -20-30’ tall in maturity.  Check Availability

‘Atrolineare’ - (syn.  ‘Filifera Purpurea’) - Linearlobum Group -red – Small, slow, narrow tree whose deeply divided leaves appear string-like.  New growth is purple-red.  Autumn colors are usually a good yellow.  Growth habit is upright, opposed to the dome topped cultivars ‘Red Pigmy’ and ‘Villa Taranto’.  Exquisite and unique form of the Japanese Maple.  Graham Stuart Thomas says that this "would be my choice if I were restricted to one Japanese Maple." 6-7’ in ten years -10-12’ tall eventually.  Check Availability

‘Autropurpureum’ - Palmatum Group -red – The variety best known to the public, this tree is extremely popular.  Name is now applicable to any markedly red leafed seedling, although on most, the leaves turn green to one degree or the other in summer and back to red in the fall.  Apx.  7-10’ tall in 10 years.  Recommended by: USNA   Check Availability

‘Azuma murasaki’ - Matsumurae Group -red – Color and deeply divided leaf lobes offer special interest.   Spring leaves are purplish-red turning to green with some red in summer.  Fall colors are scarlet.  Rounded tree as wide as tall, and outer branches may bend downward with age.  Cultivated for over 100 years but rare in North America.  Vertrees says this is a ‘choice selection’, and nurseryman Don Shadow recommended this maple in Southern Living.  Maples of the World declares it deserves wider planting.  We agree.  8-10’ in ten years, older trees may grow to 15’ or more.  Check Availability

‘Beni fushigi’– Matsumurae Group -red – This is a recent introduction (1988) originating in America despite it’s name.  It is small and shrubby and will most likely grow to about 4’ in ten years, and 6’ tall over time.  The leaf lobes are widely separated, emerging light red and darkening with age.  This gives the plants a two-toned appearance.  Beni Fushigi is densely branched and similar to ‘Beni Komachi’, or to ‘Kamagata’ but with red leaves.  Check Availability

‘Beni kawa’– Palmatum Group -green– Beni Kawa is a recent introduction and promoted as an improved Coral Bark Japanese Maple.  The bark is a brighter coral red in the winter, and turns a yellowish color in the warmer months.  The leaves are a light green with golden fall colors.  It is strong growing and will probably reach 10’ in ten years -30 to 40 feet tall after many years.  Introduced by Greer Gardens in 1987.  Check Availability

‘Beni komachi’– Matsumurae Group -red – The leaves of Beni Komachi are five-lobed with each lobe widely separated.  They are brilliant red in spring and fall.  The intense spring color matures to a greenish-red in summer.  The tree is semi-dwarf, slow growing, with multi-branched twiggy growth.  Overall the growth is short and lacy creating a small bush 6’ in ten years.  Vertrees says "This is a very choice plant, not widely known".  Beni Komachi is truly a plant for the connoisseur.  Japanese name -‘the red beautiful little girl.’ Awards: Silver Medal at Boskoop, The Netherlands.   Check Availability

‘Beni schichi henge’– Palmatum Group -variegated - A real collectors item, this variegated Japanese Maple has a strong white edge with an orange-pink blush.  It is slow growing to 4-5’ in ten years, and upright with lots of twiggy growth, eventually making a small tree 10-12’ tall.  Vertrees says ‘This cultivar is highly desirable and attracts much attention but is still rather rare." Difficult to propagate.  The Japanese name means ‘red and changing’.  Introduced from Japan in 1967.  Check Availability

‘Bloodgood’ - Palmatum Group -red – This popular cultivar maintains its red leaf color longer into the summer than most.  It is one of the darkest reds of any cultivar.  Brighter red fall colors, and dark purple twigs and stems add winter interest.  Originated at Bloodgood Nursery in Long Island, NY.  Grows 8-10’ in ten years, it eventually reaches 20’ tall or more.  Recommended by: USNA..  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

‘Boskoop Glory’ - Palmatum Group -red – One of the newest red Japanese maples, this selection was made because of its vigorous growth habit and its larger than average size -12-15’ in ten years, eventually reaching 25-30 feet in maturity.  Develops a round canopy with wine red leaves that hold their color well into the summer.   Excellent for use as a small shade tree.   Despite its name, it originated at an Oregon Nursery, not in Boskoop, The Netherlands.  Check Availability

‘Burgundy Flame’ – Matsumurae Group -red – This cultivar was selected from a seedling of the very popular Burgundy Lace Japanese Maple.  The leaves hold their red color longer and later into the summer than its parent, and the overall shape of the tree is more round topped opposed to the flat topped wide spreading Burgundy Lace.   Excellent deep purple-red leaf color on a vigorous tree.  Purple red leaf color holds up well even in the sun.  At least one resource suspects that this may be the same tree as ‘Sherwood Flame’.  Mature trees are 12-15’ tall.  Check Availability

‘Burgundy Lace’ – Matsumurae Group -red – Deeply divided leaf form with beautiful dark burgundy-red coloration that contrasts well with other Japanese maples.  Upright growing small tree with a wide canopy.  Trees grow 8-10’ in ten years and 12-15’ tall and wide in maturity.   Takes sun, but some shade preferred for optimum conditions.  Recommended by: USNA.   Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.   Award of Merit at Boskoop.  Check Availability

‘Butterfly’ - Matsumurae Group –variegated - This is the best known variegated Japanese Maple.  White edge (with pink in spring) on bluish-green leaves.  Growth habit is narrowly upright and twiggy.  Vertrees says Butterfly is "spectacular", and "one of the most desirable cultivars of the variegated group." Leaves scald easily in hot bright sunlight.  5-6’ in ten years.  Adult trees may reach 8-10’.   Originated at Koichiro Wada Nursery in Japan in 1938.  Recommended by: USNA.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Award of Merit at Boskoop, The Netherlands.  Check Availability

‘Chiba’– see...‘Kashima’

‘Corallinum’ – Amoenum Group -green – Spectacular spring foliage is this maples claim to fame.   It is a rich pink color unlike that of any other maple.  Vertrees describes the spring leaf color as ‘shrimp pink’.  It is certainly a standout that will light up the landscape.  Transitional leaves in summer are mixed pink and green, and later in summer the leaves turn a good green with some minute flecks of variegation.  3’ tall in ten years, eventually 6-10’ tall.  Introduced by Hillier’s Nursery before 1900.  Check Availability

‘Crimson Queen’- Dissectum Group -red – In America this is probably the most popular and widely sold maple of the dissectum group.  This maple maintains good dark purplish-red color in summer and does not scald easily.  Beautiful leaves are deeply cut and dissected, and the tree has a strong cascading habit.  Fall colors are a solid red.  Use as a small tree or a large specimen shrub.  Grows 3-4’ in ten years.  Recommended by: USNA.   Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.   First Class Certificate at Boskoop The Netherlands.  Check Availability

‘Deshojo’ - Palmatum Group -red – One of the best Japanese Maples for spring color.  The leaves emerge a brilliant red, then grow less intense, and fade to green toward the center of the tree.  All three leaf stages are seen at the same time for a spectacular effect.  Vertrees says that Deshojo is ‘quite desirable,’ and ‘an outstanding ornamental for smaller gardens.’ This excellent maple is becoming rare and hard to find, but is much in demand by those in the know.  This proven old variety remains a standard and is especially popular for bonsai.  Grows 6-8’ in ten years Originated in Japan before 1900.  Check Availability

‘Ever Red’ - (correctly -‘Dissectum Nigrum’ ) Dissectum Group -red – At one time this maple was the most widely available in the U.S.  Similar to Crimson Queen, but for a short period this maple has a unique silvery pubescence on new spring growth.  This single feature creates an outstanding and unusual effect in spring that is not matched in any other Japanese Maple.  Leaf droops, strengthening the cascade.  Grows 3-4’ in ten years.  Check Availability

‘Fireglow’ - Palmatum Group -red – Fireglow burns red in the landscape throughout the season.  It is a dark, wine-red color.  Grows full size to 25-30’ tall, and develops into a denser more heavily branched tree than the similar ‘Bloodgood’, ‘Moonglow’, and others.   Raised in Italy and named in the Netherlands in 1977.  Check Availability

‘Garnet’ - Dissectum Group -red – Deep cut, orange-red leaves and weeping mound shape make this one of the most popular dissectum maples.  Becoming very popular with growers because it grafts easily and finishes off quickly.  A strong grower that holds good red color into summer.  Grows 3-4’ in ten years, but one of the largest growing dissectums.  It may eventually reach 12-15’ high and wide.  It was discovered in a batch of seedlings imported to the Netherlands from Italy in 1959.  It is now probably the most widely grown dissectum cultivar in Europe, and finding wide spread use in America.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Award of Merit at Boskoop, The Netherlands (where it originated).    Check Availability

‘Higasa yama’ – Palmatum Group -variegated - This cultivar has several special traits.  It has a narrow columnar-like growth habit.  Creamy leaf buds unfold from a crimson sheath at the first of spring creating an effect equal to the best spring flowering shrubs.  The emerging leaves are variegated green with a white edge.  In early spring the edges may also have a strong pink tint.   The leaf lobes frequently curl upward or downward or have a slight twist in them.  Grows 8-10’ in ten years.  The plants are quite twiggy, and even though very old plants may reach 20-25’ tall, Higasayama is very amenable to bonsai and is frequently used for such.  Check Availability

‘Inaba shidare’ - Dissectum Group -red – Large leaves, well spaced weeping branches, and deep purple-red color are outstanding characteristics of this maple.  Young trees seem to grow taller and more slender than the others in this group, and this effect can be enhanced with staking.  Young plants may look very similar to ‘Garnet’, but older plants will be more open and less cascading.  Grows to 3-4’ in ten years.  The Japanese name translates as ‘leaves of the rice plant’.  'Red Select'/'Select Red' apparently to be identical.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

‘Kagiri nishiki’ - (syn.  ‘Roseo-marginatum’) – Palmatum Group -variegated - The blue-green leaves are variegated with a white edge, which in turn is edged in pink.  Grows more upright and is less twiggy than ‘Butterfly’.   An old proven variety, references to this plant date back nearly 300 years.  Makes a small upright tree 7’ in ten years, and 15-18’ tall or more over time.  Awards: First Class Certificate from RHS.  Check Availability

‘Kamagata’– Dwarf Group -green – Kamagata is one of only two trees ever selected by J.D.  Verrtees, America’s number one expert on Japanese maples.  It is a dwarf (3’ in ten years) with a delicate look, but it has proven itself tolerant to 0°F and has even performed well in sun and dry locations.   Leaves are generally five lobed and widely separated like fingers.  Each lobe is slightly toothed.  The leaves are mainly a bright green, with red edges in spring and brilliant fall colors of yellow, orange, and occasionally some red tints.  These plants grow very bushy and twiggy with lots of lacy side branching -eventually developing somewhat of a round shape.  Check Availability

‘Kashima’– (syn.  ‘Chiba’) – Dwarf Group -green – This is a true dwarf growing only 3’ in ten years.  Kashima is a shrubby growing miniature tree that has light yellow green leaves with a rusty colored edge in the early spring.  The leaves are five lobed with a prominent center lobe ending in a sharp point.  Excellent as a small specimen.  One of the most desired maples for bonsai.  Check Availability

‘Katsura’ - Palmatum Group -green – The leaves of Katsura are spectacular in the early spring when they emerge in colors of yellow and orange.  The leaves mature to a bright green and then back to yellow and orange colors again in the fall.  The plants grow upright with lots of twigs and side branching.  Older plants are usually only 4-5’ tall but occasionally 10’+ trees are reported.  Good choice for bonsai.  Check Availability

‘Koto ito komachi’ – Dwarf Group -green – J.D.  Vertrees second named cultivar, Koto ito komachi is unlike any other Japanese maple.  The name translated means ‘old harp string-beautiful little girl’ and is a reference to the unusual leaves.  The green leaves are made up of five extremely long narrow lobes measuring 1mm or less in width which join only at the petiole.  They are among the finest and most delicate looking leaves of all the Japanese maples.   The plants are very slow growing to 3’ in ten years.  Fall color is a bright yellow.    Check Availability

‘Koto hime’– Dwarf Group -green – The leaves on Kotohime are some of the tiniest of all the Japanese maples.   The five lobes may appear as three lobes as the basal lobes nearly disappear.  New leaves have a bright red color, especially at the leaf edges, while mature foliage is bright green.  The growth habit is upright with heavy branching.  Maples of the World says Kotohime is "one of the most desirable dwarfs".  Excellent used as a miniature specimen or for bonsai.  Trees may eventually reach 5 to 6 foot tall, but only after many years.  Check Availability

‘Kurui jishi’– Dwarf Group -green – Kuri jishi means Crazy Lion in Japanese, and it is an appropriate name for this very unusual maple.  The leaves are green turning yellow in the fall.  Each leaf lobe rolls tightly inward and upward creating a delightful star shaped leaf.  The habit is dense and bunchy and the plants grow as upright dwarfs, reaching 4-5’ in ten years.  Originated in Japan before 1882.  Check Availability

‘Matsu ga e’ – Palmatum Group -variegated - Matsugae is one of our favorite of the variegated maples, but it’s good traits are not well known.  Vertrees says this maple is about halfway between Butterfly and Kigiri nishiki -with a greater depth of color than Kigiri nishiki and a more open less twiggy habit than Butterfly.  In our experience it is also the most sun tolerant of the three, as well as the fastest grower, and the most tree like in shape and habit.  The white variegation in the leaves is slightly different on each leaf but evenly distributed through the tree.  The green center of the leaves is a bluish-green color.  A deep rose overlay appears on the emerging leaves in Spring and returns in the fall before the rest of the leaves turn glorious red.  Grows to about 8’ in ten years.  Check Availability

‘Moonfire’ - Palmatum Group -red – Another outstanding red leafed maple, Moonfire holds it’s red color extremely well in the hot summer months.  Color is dark purple-red to black-red.  Reputedly this is a better selection for the long hot summer months of the South than Bloodgood, and it is smaller and slower growing, but eventually may reach 15 to 20’ or more.  Introduced by Richard Wolff of Pennsylvania in 1970.  Check Availability

‘Nure sagi’– Matsumurae Group -red – Dark purple to black leaves with red veins differentiate this distinguished cultivar.  On older plants the dark bark develops whitish striations similar to those on the snakebark maples.  This is the only Japanese maple variety we know that has this trait.  Strong grower, 10-12’ in ten years, and 20’ tall eventually.  Red color is as beautiful as any tree in autumn.  Name means ‘wet heron’ in Japan, where the cultivar originated before 1882.  Check Availability

‘Octopus’ - Dissectum Group -red – Octopus is another new and little known dissectum type Japanese maple, and it may well be one of the largest and fastest growing members of this group.   Reaches 3-4’ in ten years.  Foliage emerges red in the spring but is predominately green with red highlights by the late summer, while returning to bright red colors in the fall.   A large growing, open, spreading, dissectum -it will indeed remind you of an Octopus creeping across your lawn.  Check Availability

‘Okushimo’ - Palmatum Group -green – Very unusual.  Dark green leaves are 7 lobed and leaf divisions roll inward on themselves very nearly forming tubes, and giving the leaf divisions a round form.  Beautiful yellow and gold fall colors seem lit from within.  A narrow upright vase shaped tree at maturity.  Could be much more widely used if growth habit was better known.   Grown in Japan since the 1700’s.  Grows to 5-6’ in ten years, eventually 12-15’ tall and 4-5’ wide.   Japanese name means ‘Salt & Pepper’.  Recommended by: USNA  Check Availability

‘Omure yama’– (syn.  ‘Omurayama’) – Matsumurae Group -green – Omurayama is a weeping form of the Japanese maple, but should not be confused with the dissectum group which are smaller and more shrub like.  Omurayama becomes a small tree 8-10’ tall in ten years with willowy pendant branches that hang like a curtain on the perimeter of the plant.  Many people compare the effect to that of a miniature weeping willow.  The leaves are deeply dissected with an orange cast to the green leaves in the spring.  In fall the green leaves turn to brilliant red and gold colors.  Check Availability

‘Orangeola’ - Dissectum Group -red – A very recent introduction to the weeping cutleaf maples this cultivar is vigorous and displays colors strongly in the orange-red tones during both spring and fall.  Orange hints highlight summer leaves.  This tree is new, very rare, and much in demand.  Will grow 3-4’ in ten years.  Awards: Award of Merit at Boskoop.  Check Availability

‘Oregon Sunset’ – Matsumurae Group -red – This newly introduced Japanese Red Maple has a short bushy habit and would fit into any small landscape or work as an excellent container plant.   Slow growing to 4’ in ten years, the plants may grow to 12’ after many years.  The leaves are red and are especially brilliant in both spring and fall.  The leaves are deeply divided with serrated margins.  This very new maple is rapidly gaining admirers among maple enthusiasts.  We have joined the ranks.  We feel Oregon Sunset has some of the best fall color of all cultivars.  Check Availability

‘Osakazuki’ – Amoenum Group -green – All Japanese maples have good fall colors, but ask the experts and they agree that Osakazuki is the cream of the crop.  Fall colors are the most outstanding color of red imaginable.  The leaves are larger than average, and the tree grows into a rounded shape –more so in old age.  Grows 8-10’ tall in ten years.  Old trees may reach 20-30’ tall.  Osakazuki has been grown for over 150 years, but demand continues to exceed supply.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Recommended by: USNA  Check Availability

‘Oshio beni’– Amoenum Group -red – The color of this maple is more orange-red than in most cultivars.   Upright grower to 8-10’ in ten years with a spreading canopy.  Eventually grows to 15 foot tall or more.  Leaves are larger than average.  Provides excellent color contrast with other varieties.  At our nursery this is everyone’s top choice for red color in the spring.  Easy to see why the Japanese named this the ‘great red tide’.  May scald in full sun.  Check Availability

‘Peaches & Cream’ – Palmatum Group -variegated - This is a very recent introduction.  The big attraction here is the impressive leaves that are reticulate in green, white, and pink.  Shrubby growth habit and lots of thickly ranked leaves along each branch and twig-lake this a compact tight plant that will grow to about 10’ tall and wide after 20 years.  This was a seedling of ‘Reticulatum’ discovered in 1980 at Yamina Rare Plants in Australia.   Check Availability

‘Red Dragon’ - Dissectum Group -red – A new superior maple from New Zealand.  Deeply cut purple-red leaves have a distinctly different texture from the other dissectum types, and you might easily envision hundreds of red dragon’s claws hanging from this vigorous maple.   Has held excellent red color in the summer, and is always a darker, more purplish red color than Crimson Queen.  There are those who feel this cultivar could become the standard red dissectum sold in America.  Grows 4-5’ in ten years.  Check Availability

‘Red Emperor’(syn.  -'Emperor 1') - Palmatum Group -red – Red Emperor is the latest claimant to the throne of the reddest the longest.  In our limited experience it has indeed maintained good red color through the summer.  The leaves are palmate and a little larger than average.  It is vigorous, growing to 10-12’ in ten years.  Where we garden, Red Emperor has handled summer heat easily, and is developing a reputation for good overall performance in difficult situations.  Check Availability

‘Red Feather’ - Dissectum Group -red – This is the newest and most exciting addition to the dissectum group.  The leaf divisions are as delicate and petite as the leaves on ‘Red Filigree Lace’ but Red Feather grows faster and fuller, making 3-4’ in ten years.  The leaves are a smokey-red in color.  Red Feather was discovered in the mid 1980’s at Vermeulen & Son Nursery in New Jersey and was first introduced to the public in 1996.  A progeny of the popular Japanese maple ‘Burgundy Lace’.  Check Availability

‘Red Filigree Lace’ - Dissectum Group -red – This is the most finely cut red dissectum.  Leaves are extremely thin and fine, yet they are amazingly sun tolerant.  In Vertrees opinion, "this is the most beautiful and unusual new introduction to the dissectum group." Grows 3-4’ in ten years.  Check Availability

‘Red Pigmy’ - Linearlobum Group -red – An excellent dwarf maple from the linearlobum group.  Red Pigmy has thin, strap-like leaves with excellent red color.   The plant is slow growing and dwarf to 4’ in ten years, and will grow as wide as it grows tall.  Red Pigmy was discovered in an Italian garden and introduced by a Dutch nursery in 1969, but it is only finding it’s way into American gardens recently.   Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.   Award of Merit at Boskoop.  Check Availability

‘Sagara nishiki’- Palmatum Group -variegated - Most of the variegated maples are combinations of green and white; Sagara Nishiki is one of the few whose primary colors are green and yellow.  The leaves are a very light green edged in pale yellow.  These leaves will scald easier than most so provide some shade.   The growth habit is upright with considerable branching making 4-6’ in ten years.  Growth slows with age but mature trees may reach 6-10’.  Check Availability

‘Sango kaku’ - (syn.  ‘Senkaki’) - Coral Bark Japanese Maple - Palmatum Group -green – A personal favorite and deserving of much wider use.  Has year round appeal - highlighted in winter when stems and branches turn fluorescent coral in color.  Leaves are pale green and contrast well with other green trees, but may scald in full sun.   Grows 10’ in ten years.  Usually matures around 20’ tall but can grow 25-30’ tall in very old age.  Japanese name means ‘coral tower’.  Awards: Award of Merit & Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Recommended by: USNA.  Check Availability

‘Seiryu’- Dissectum Group -green – A one-of-a-kind from the dissectum group because of its unusual growth habit.  This maple grows upright and does not weep.  Very delicate looking leaf yet it resists scalding even when planted in full sun.  Some literature notes yellow fall colors, but we always get a superlative red.  One of the best, and outstanding for use as a small specimen tree.  Grows to 8’ in ten years and 15 to 20’ in maturity.  The Japanese name translates into "green dragon".  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Award of Merit at Boskoop.  Check Availability

‘Shaina’ - Palmatum Group -red – Shaina is an excellent dwarf growing red Japanese maple.  It originated as a sport of the very popular ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple.  The growth habit is upright and compact to 5’ in ten years, with lots of twiggy growth giving the branches a tufted look.  The narrow pointed leaves are two-toned with bright red contrasting with dark red leaves.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS in 1993.  Check Availability

‘Sharp’s Pigmy’ – Dwarf Group -green – One of the smallest growing Japanese Maples, it is doubtful Sharps Pigmy will grow to much over 3 foot tall even over a very long period of time.  Very tiny green leaves turn a nice orange color in the fall.   Sharp’s Pigmy would make an ideal small focal plant in the garden or be excellent as a potted plant or bonsai.  Raised and introduced into the U.S.A.  in 1985.  Check Availability

‘Shin deshojo’ - Palmatum Group -green – The name means ‘a new Deshojo’, so you know this maple aspires to greatness.  Emerging leaf color is scarlet but soon turns pink and green and is truly spectacular.  Shrubby, with lots of thin branches, eventually reaching 8-10’ tall.  Check Availability

‘Shishi gashira’ – (syn.  ‘Crispum’, ‘Ribescifolium’ ) - Palmatum Group -green – Unlike any other Japanese maple, this slow small grower has curled, kinky leaves emerging in thick patches the length of the stems.  Leaf color is green, and it holds this color longer into the fall than the other maples.  Then, when other maple colors have faded, it bursts into glorious colors of orange-red.  Shishigashira makes a compact upright tree from 10 to 15 foot tall in time.  Slow growth makes this excellent for bonsai and containers.  Name translates as ‘lion’s head’ or ‘lion’s mane’.  Check Availability

‘Shojo nomura’ – Matsumurae Group -red – Purplish-red leaves with persistent summer color on a small tree with cascading habit as it ages.  Crimson red fall color is out of this world.  Very rare.  Grows 8-10’ in ten years.  Check Availability

‘Tamuke yama’ - Dissectum Group -red – Choice weeping red dissectum Japanese maple.  Holds its purple-red color even in the heat of summer.  Grows 3-4’ in ten years.  Wide spreading pendulous habit eventually reaching 6-8’ tall and nearly twice as wide.  Cultivated in Japan since 1710! Only recently receiving attention in the U.S.  Considered by many to be the best, and the connoisseurs choice in red dissectums.  Awards: Gold Medal from PHS.  Check Availability

‘Trompenburg’ – Matsumurae Group -red – From the Trompemburg Arboretum in Rotterdam The Netherlands comes this premium red leaf Japanese maple.  Introduced in the mid 1960’s and now becoming well known.  With age the dark red leaf lobes on this tree will roll in on themselves creating a unique effect.  This trait is not visible on young trees.  This splendid tree is a fast grower and makes an exceptional small tree in short order.  Grows to 8-10’ in ten years; 20-25’ in time.  Awards: Award of Preliminary Commendation from the RHS in 1984. Check Availability 

‘Tsukushi gata’– Amoenum Group -red – Not well known, Tsukushigata is a spectacular red palmatum.  The leaves are a dark purple to black-red in color, and hold up well all season.  Shaded trees may show more green in the summer.  The leaves are longer than broad and nearly star-shaped.  Smaller growing than is typical for this group, only 6-8’ in ten years, but older trees will reach 10’ or more and larger trees are known.  Check Availability

‘Uki gumo’ - Palmatum Group -variegated - In Japan Ukigumo means floating clouds, and tiny pink and white spots float across the light green leaves of this variegated maple.  The color is subdued not flashy.  The plants grow small and dense growing into a tall shrub of 6 to 10’ after some years.  Check Availability

‘Verkade’s Witches Broom’ – Dwarf Group -red – This outstanding maple grows as a very tight mass of twiggy growth.  A profusion of of tiny two-toned red leaves pack the length of every stem and branch.  Red color is excellent throughout the year.  One of the most unusual maples, it will indeed remind you of a ‘Witch’s Broom’.  A dwarf, but makes considerable growth in the early years to 3-4’ in ten years.  This maple would be outstanding for use in a rock garden or grown in a container.  Check Availability

'Viridis' - Dissectum Group -green – Any excellent green laceleaf maple with deeply dissected leaves, weeping habit, and golden colors in fall.  These are strong growers, making a 3-4’ shrub-like tree in 10 years or can be staked while young to gain extra height.  Grows 3-4’ in ten years.  Mature trees may reach 10-15’ high and wide.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

‘Waterfall’ - Dissectum Group -green – Similar to Viridis, but possibly more pendulous, with a slightly larger leaf and smaller sized in maturity.  Slower growing to 3-4’ in ten years..  Fantastic fall colors in gold and yellow primarily, but sometimes tinged with red.  Awards: Gold Medal from PHS.  Check Availability

shirasawanum Zones 5-9 Part shade

‘Aureum’ –(syn.  A.  japonicum ‘Aureum’) Golden Fullmoon Maple –The Golden Full Moon Maple is one of the most desirable but least available of the Japanese Maples.  The large orbicular leaves are yellow-green to chartreuse, and they light up a dark spot in the garden.   Growth habit is slow, and the plants are shrub sized for most of their early years.  6’ tall in ten years.  Excellent fall colors of orange to red.  Very difficult to propagate, this plant is usually only available to existing buyers on our "Waiting List".  Awards: First Class Certificate & Award of Garden Merit from the RHS.  Check Availability

‘Autumn Moon’ - Very similar in growth and habit to the above tree.  Shaded leaves are also a similar greenish-yellow, but exposed leaves develop a burnt orange tone.  Color is sensational, and shown at its best on trees with some direct sun.  Seems to have a hardier constitution than ‘Aureum’.  Check Availability

sieboldianum - Korean Maple Zones 4-7 Sun to partial shade
Closely related and similar to Acer palmatum, but more cold hardy.  Excellent for use as a Japanese maple substitute in colder areas of Zones 4 and 5.  Leaves are palmate but with 7 to 9 lobes.  The leaf color is more blue-green and contrasts well with Japanese maples.   Fall colors are yellow and orange.  10’ tall in ten years.  Matures at 20 to 30 foot tall.  Awards: Award of Merit from the RHS.   Check Availability

tataricum - Amur Maple Zones 3-8 Sun to partial shade

ssp.  ginnala ‘Flame’ - The most cold hardy of all the maples we grow, Flame is a small multi-trunked tree with ornamental bark, seeds, and good predominately red fall colors.  Generally upright growth habit and wide spreading, but easily pruned to fit diverse locations.  Makes 10-12’ of growth in ten years,20-30’ tall at maturity.  Flame is a seedling strain, developed by the USDA Soil Conservation Service.  Awards: Award of Garden Merit (for species).  Recommended by: USNA  Check Availability

triflorum - Three Flowered Maple Zones 4-8 Sun to partial shade
From Manchuria and Korea comes this very rare small tree.  It is especially noted for it’s consistently excellent fall colors.  This tree has highly ornamental light brown peeling bark which curls off in coils.  It grows into a small tree 6-8’ in ten years; eventually 20 to 30 foot tall, or occasionally even taller.   Awards: Gold Medal from PHS.  Check Availability

truncatum - Shantung Maple Zones 4-8 Sun to partial shade
An excellent small to medium sized tree that has enormous potential in modern gardens if it were better known.  Grows into a tight round-headed tree with even regular branches.  Leaves emerge red before turning a dark glossy green.  Fall colors may be yellow with some oranges and reds.  Has proven itself to be tough and durable under difficult circumstances, yet it retains a sophisticated flair.  Grows 10-15’ in ten years.   Mature trees may be 30’ tall.  Check Availability

HOME       CURRENT AVAILABILITY      PLANT DIRECTORY     
THE FINE PRINT      EVERYTHING ELSE

Abbreviations       About Our Plants        All about Japanese Maples        Bibliography        Cold Hardiness Zone Map       Guarantees      
How to Grow Fantastic Plants       How to Use the Plant Directory        Shipping    

Send mail to fanplant@AOL.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2001 Fantastic Plants